The Lost Words book was based on the realization that certain words in
the Oxford Children's Dictionary, for example "Kingfisher", "Conker" and
"Otter" had been omitted because the editors no longer felt them to be
in common usage. Robert Macfarlane, the internationally renowned author
of "The Old Ways", "Underland" and "Landmarks" teamed up with the
extraordinary artist Jackie Morris to write 'spells' (poems) and paint
pictures of these birds, animals and inhabitants of the natural world,
to celebrate their existence.
The card game involves marrying up these spells with their counterparts
in nature, and using special cards to help one's own efforts and hinder
your opponents. It's interactive fun for all the family and comes to the
USA for the first time in the midst of a big success in the UK where the
game is already in its 4th printing